Tione Jayden Merritt (IPA: [taj.oʊn d͡ʒeɪ.dən ˈmɛɹ.ɪt]) (born April 30, 2001), known professionally as Lil Tjay (/ˈtiːdʒeɪ/ ⓘ TEE-jay),[1] is an American rapper and singer/songwriter.

His second studio album, Destined 2 Win (2021) was supported by the single "Calling My Phone" (with 6lack), which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

His 2023 song "Gangsta Boo" (with Ice Spice) likewise entered the chart, and his third studio album, 222, was released in July of that year.

At the age of 15, Merritt was arrested for a robbery, and sentenced to a year at the youth detention center, where he would begin to write raps; they included one of his hit songs "Resume", which he released on SoundCloud.

[7] Within the first ten months of Merritt's music career, he had released five tracks that recorded over one million plays on SoundCloud.

[10] In July 2018, Merritt worked with producer CashMoneyAP to release "None of Your Love", which also amassed tens of millions of plays.

[9] In January 2019, Merritt was featured on fellow rapper Polo G's single "Pop Out", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[12] Later that year, he released an EP titled F.N; the project's lead single, "F.N", peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first solo charting song.

On May 8, 2020, Merritt released the EP State of Emergency, which focused heavily on drill music, a popular subgenre in New York City.

[14] The seven-song EP included the track "Zoo York" (featuring Fivio Foreign and Pop Smoke), which peaked at number 65 on the Hot 100.

[15] In July, Merritt appeared on Pop Smoke's debut posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, on the track "Mood Swings", which reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[18] On February 12, 2021, Merritt released his single "Calling My Phone", a collaboration with Atlanta singer 6lack, which was accompanied by a music video directed by Cam Busby.

[20] On October 22, Merritt released the lead single to his upcoming third studio album "Not in the Mood" (featuring Fivio Foreign and Kay Flock).

[21] In early March 2022, Merritt began teasing a new song titled "In My Head" which uses a sample of Iyaz's "Replay".

[29] He was flown to Hackensack University Medical Center and underwent emergency surgery, while a second victim—22-year-old Antoine Boyd—who is friends with Merritt, was also shot once and was in stable condition.

[36] Days following a lack of any credible updates on Merritt's condition, rumors began to surface claiming that he was paralyzed and possibly brain dead.